Govt moves to ensure energy security in Lagos

The Lagos State Government says its agency, the Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a major oil company, Petrolex Oil and Gas, to ensure energy security in the state.

The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo, explained that the government, through the Ministry of Energy And Mineral Resources, deliberately commenced a reform process in the energy sector to further guarantee the energy security of Lagos.

He said, “The energy reform process, which is divided into three major sectors — the electricity reform, the gas reform and the downstream petroleum reform — is crucial to providing stability in the oil market through which the state’s economy can be advanced.”

He said the state government was moving to ensure massive revolution in downstream petroleum sector to ameliorate the crisis of fuel scarcity, adding that Ibile Oil and Gas had been the major platform helping the state to drive its reform.

“The signing of agreement with Petrolex, a major downstream petroleum company with massive capacity, will pilot the process to have distribution security that will afford Ibile Oil and Gas to have major distribution stations at strategic locations and partner other petrol stations to provide petroleum products consistently at a regulated price,” the commissioner added.

He stated further that the ultimate desire of the government in the energy security initiative was to achieve utmost deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector in the state, and by extension, the country as a whole.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Olujimi Hotonu, said the agreement was a journey to end the season of petroleum scarcity in the state.

The Group Executive Director of Petrolex Oil and Gas, Mr Olukayode Adelaja, described the partnership as commendable, saying the agreement would lead to a creation of a service delivery level that was consistent and sustainable.

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